Asil Nadir: One step nearer to Turkey

Asil Nadir: One step nearer to Turkey

It has been reported that Asil Nadir has paid the £5 million compensation ordered by an Old Bailey judge.

Nadir is currently serving a 10 year prison sentence at Belmarsh prison for fraud worth £29 million and has served less than a year of his sentence.

The court judgement was that if he did not pay £5 million as partial compensation, then he would serve an additional 6 years in jail. Despite pleading poverty and relying on legal aid to meet his court costs, Mr Nadir has managed to find this amount. He received millions in legal aid and lived in a mansion rented at £23,000 per month.

Making this payment removes a major obstacle to Nadir’s transfer to Turkey and then possibly North Cyprus. Apparently the £5 million was paid by his friend and owner of Onur Air, Hamit Bagana. His lawyers will now be pushing for this transfer.

However, any deal would need to be signed by Chris Grayling, the Justice Secretary which would be a bold move politically. During the 1980’s, Mr Nadir donated over £400,000 to the Tory party and any leniency might be interpreted as favouritism.